New Google Glass Teardown Puts Hardware Costs at $150 [WSJ]

Google has denied that making Glass costs so little

Google Glass is pricier to make than teardown suggests, company says

It hasn’t been long since Google Glass was torn apart and the components evaluated at some $80 (€58), but a new report indicates that the price is in fact nearly double. Even so, it’s still a tenth of the $1,500 (€1,100) that Google is selling Glass for.

The estimate comes from IHS Inc., a firm which says that the digital headset’s hardware and manufacturing expenses total about $152.47 (€111).

Even so, the company itself admits that these teardown estimates can be misleading since Google’s costs could be higher in other departments. For instance, as with most tech nowadays, it’s not so much about the hardware costs, but about the engineering involved in the entire device and the software component.

“When you buy Google Glass for $1,500 (€1,100), you are getting far, far more than just $152.47 (€111) in parts and manufacturing,” IHS Senior Director Andrew Rassweiler told The Wall Street Journal.

Just like it did last month when TechInsights estimated that Glass’ components cost less than $80 (€58), Google argued against the report.

“While we appreciate another attempt to estimate the cost of Glass, this latest one from ISH, like Teardown.com’s, is wildly off. Glass costs significantly more to produce,” Google claims.

Of course, there’s also the fact that Glass is currently being produced in limited numbers and these costs should considerably lower once the device is being built in big numbers, just like it does with any other product.

Google has been investing in Google Glass for years, in more than just hardware parts. The technology behind the device, complete with all the hours put into designing and developing Glass also carry a heavy cost.

The company has been working on the device for a long time. Last year, the company opened up the Explorer Program, allowing developers and other tech lovers to get their hands on the beta version of the gadget, hoping to create a bit of hype around Glass, but also to get people to create content specifically for it.

Google execs have mentioned that the mainstream launch of Glass should take place sometime in 2014, but no exact timeline was provided. The company has, however, opened its shop doors in the US. The device could be bought for an entire day several weeks ago, while today Google has announced that it is opening up its store once more for anyone in the United States willing to pay the $1,500 (€1,100) price tag.